James Dolan's pop passed away on a Saturday morning - a day before his uncle was due to get married.
The couple had considered changing the date. But their pop had known about his cancer for some time and his instructions were clear - no matter what happened to him, they were to go through with their wedding plans.
"My pop said he didn't want the day to be about him - it wasn't a day for sadness," James says. "It was a day for them - this was their life."
It was a final request that spoke volumes about his character.
It could have been a day unable to emerge from a pool of grief and sadness. But the family - adamant they were going to honour pop's wishes - made the day about joy, happiness and celebration.
It was a day of new opportunities too.
James in the workshop at Sharpe
It's hard not to tell this story without conjuring a sense of predeterminism.
For starters, James comes from a line of fitters. His pop was fitter. His dad was a fitter.
They spent their working life assembling and fitting machinery parts, often using hand tools and technical drawings to ensure proper fit and function.
If it sounds like a form of engineering, you'd be absolutely correct.
It's part of the reason James got into engineering himself.
"It's a job that always been in the family - and part of what's kept me going is my pop's advice to get a qualification behind me," James says.
"Especially after he passed, it became a huge priority to make it through and finish my degree."
But the lineage of skilled workers is only one part of the fatalistic aspect of this story - the other is when James met Liz Sharpe at his uncle's wedding.
She was a close friend of the bridal party.
But more than that, it turned out she'd worked with James's dad as a welder 20 years earlier. Since that time, Liz had joined her family's business at Sharpe Engineering .
"When Liz found out what I was studying, she suggested I should apply for a job at Sharpe," James says.
"She said she couldn't guarantee anything but encouraged me to put an application in."
James passed off Liz's suggestion as politeness, thinking nothing more would come of it. But when he saw her a couple of weeks later at his pop's funeral, she pressed him about it.
This time James acted, submitting his resume, which soon led to a 12-week placement. During that placement, he impressed the team and was offered a job while he was still studying his Engineering degree.
"Getting to work here, I feel like it would have made my pop proud," James says.
"Being able to grow my skills here too - that has been huge. There's a great team of mentors around me - I really can't thank them enough for the opportunity."
Like James's story, Sharpe's story is an incredible one about family. But more than that, it's about growth, opportunity and an entrepreneurial spirit.
Their story starts out at Roma, where Liz's father - a fitter and turner by trade - founded a manufacturing facility with his wife Anne to provide a local solution for high-quality manufactured products, servicing the resource sector.
Fast forward some 30 years later and they've expanded operations greatly, with established facilities in Zillmere and Virginia, which are continuing to expand.
Now a company of around 130 employees, Sharpe says it has long prided itself on being a workplace that welcomes those eager to learn and grow, which is reflected in its strong apprenticeship program and focus on upskilling the next generation of Queensland's manufacturing workforce.
Despite its size, when you walk into the Sharpe facility at Virginia, you get the sense this is still a family business.
Part of this is because family members fill key roles throughout the organisation, including Liz, who's the communications and documents manager.
The parents are still involved too, sitting on as board members, overseeing governance of the operation.
Liz says Sharpe are always on the lookout for people like James who are genuinely passionate about engineering.
"We've grown by investing in skills and potential - our staff are a massive driving factor behind our success," Liz says.
"Investing in and nurturing that next generation of talent is part of that. We're thrilled to be able to support James's journey into engineering - we think he's got a fantastic future in front of him."
James on his computer working at Sharpe
UniSC's Head of Moreton Bay campuses Professor Karen Becker says the Sharpe story is reflected through the massive growth the area north of Brisbane is experiencing.
"Moreton Bay's growth trajectory remarkable," Professor Becker says.
"It has regularly outperformed other South East Queensland locations, growing at an average of 3 percent every year from 2006-2020.
"We're talking about an economy set to double in size by 2041 - that's not just growth, that's transformation.
"With billions in investment and infrastructure on the horizon, including through our further Moreton Bay campus expansion, this region is becoming one of the most exciting places in the country to live, learn and do business.
"We are proud to be a part of Moreton Bay, to help build a skilled workforce with individuals like James."
For James, the opportunity that comes with working in the industry while he's still studying is something he doesn't take for granted.
"I can't believe the opportunity I've been given," he says. "This is what I get to call work.
"I love that no two days at work are the same. I'm constantly solving new problems, coming up with better ways to do things, working on new products.
"It's challenging in the best way."
